Vietnam national team identifies Iran's weaknesses.

Iran's 5-0 victory over Yemen demonstrated their strength and determination in the 2019 Asian Cup. Even the Vietnamese coaching staff understood that a draw against Iran would be a miracle, while a narrow defeat wouldn't be too bad either.

Having witnessed Iran's resounding 5-0 victory over Yemen, Vietnam's assistant coach Lee Young Jin understands that even the biggest scoreline in the first round of the 2019 Asian Cup group stage doesn't fully reflect the strength of the continent's top-ranked team. Iran hasn't unleashed its full potential yet, but it has already turned Yemen's defense into a training ground for its championship aspirations.

Head coach Carlos Queiroz is aware that this is the right time for him to help the team win a championship before potentially leaving to coach the Colombian national team. In his eight years with Iran, the Portuguese coach has failed to help the historically successful Asian Cup team, with three previous titles, demonstrate continental dominance, aside from the unofficial title of being the highest-ranked Asian team in the FIFA rankings.

Therefore, Carlos Queiroz has called back the stars who performed exceptionally well at the 2018 World Cup to serve the national team. Proof of this is that midfielder Jahanbakhsh (playing for Brighton in the Premier League), who was injured at the time, was still called up, only to wait for recovery before playing from the quarter-finals onwards.

Mehdi Taremi (17), who scored a brace for Iran in their 5-0 win against Yemen, will be the main threat to Vietnam's defense. Photo: AFC

Iran's desire to win, conversely, puts the Vietnamese team in an extremely difficult situation, especially after their 2-3 defeat against Iraq. The chances of advancing to the second round as one of the top two teams in the group have narrowed considerably, forcing Coach Park Hang-seo to consider the option of being one of the four best third-placed teams to qualify. To achieve this, Coach Park aims to earn points against Iran on January 12th. To accomplish this, the notes and analysis from assistant coach Lee Young Jin are crucial.

The question is, based on those records following Iran's almost perfect performance, how will Coach Park and his staff devise a plan to counter their opponent? Iran scored 5 goals against Yemen in a variety of styles, especially aerial attacks reminiscent of modern European football.

The difficulty for Coach Park and his team lies in the fact that Iran has the best average height in the tournament, while Vietnam is the opposite. Every line of the West Asian team has "walking towers" such as goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand (1.94 m), defender Hossein Kanaanizadegan (1.86 m), midfielder Rouzbeh Cheshmi (1.92 m), and striker Mehdi Taremi, who just scored a brace, at 1.87 m.

Moreover, Iran possesses players with excellent technique, speed, long-range shooting ability, and teamwork. Many Iranian players are currently playing in Europe, such as striker Karim Ansarifard for Nottingham Forest in the English Championship, midfielders Jahanbakhsh (Brighton), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo), Morteza Pouraliganji (Eupen), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny), Vahid Amiri, Majid Hosseini (Trabzonspor), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan), and Saman Ghoddos (Amiens)... All of them have returned with the desire to help Iranian football regain its top position at the Asian Cup. Therefore, in the match against Vietnam, they will be determined to win, even by a large margin, to gain an advantage in the race for the top spot in the group in case they draw with Iraq in the final match.

Be cautious before facing the Vietnamese team.

After attending the match between Vietnam and Iraq, Iran's coach Carlos Queiroz expressed his admiration for the playing style of Coach Park Hang-seo's team. However, the Portuguese coach also recognized Park Hang-seo's team's approach: "The Vietnamese team has improved very quickly recently, especially their defense, which is highly rated. Their defensive counter-attacking style, using short passes, is very effective. We will have to be cautious when facing Park Hang-seo's team."